Big issues in brief
Not voting? Read this.
At a time of great disillusionment & voter apathy, make sure you know your options.
“I’m not voting”
Do any of these reasons sound familiar to you?
“Voting endorses the rigged system”
“It doesn’t matter which party gets into power, they’re all the same”
“I used to vote Labour but I can’t vote for such an unelectable leader”
“I’m an anarchist — we can destroy the electoral system through non-participation”
“There’s no point in voting for a smaller party”
I understand where you’re coming from
It certainly is true that our corrupt electoral system dilutes your vote. The average UK voter has a voting power of just 0.3 — that’s less than a third of a vote. We’ll be publishing an In-depth analysis explaining just how undemocratic out electoral and political system are, soon. Many also feel let down by MPs that don’t represent them or that exploit the system for their own personal gain. But abstaining only makes matter worse…
Think about why the status quo exists
Generations of almost exclusively successive Conservative and Labour governments have allowed power to be exchanged backwards and forwards between themselves, but almost always between the same two parties. It’s not in their interests to empower the electorate.
The Liberal Democrats (and their predecessors) is the only other party to have been in government, so far, but they disappointed their voters because they abandoned their principles when they were in coalition with the Conservatives.
The only way we can disrupt this corrupt balance of power is by electing MPs from the parties whose policies we most agree with, and by implementing electoral reform.
“Electoral reform will never happen”
It certainly won’t if you don’t vote. That’s guaranteed. In fact, by not voting, you will give the two main parties even more opportunity to gain power on an ever-decreasing mandate from the electorate.
“A vote for a small party is a wasted vote”
If you voted for a small party 30 years ago, you would have achieved nothing. If you vote for them now, they’re still not going to lead a government, but there’s an increasing chance of them being able to become part of a coalition. Through being in government and through having the backing of a larger section of society, they will be able to influence policies that affect you and campaign for electoral reform.
There’s a strong chance that a small party will represent your views if you’re currently feeling disenfranchised. Maybe one of the larger parties represents you more than you’d realised? Take one of these tests to find out:
- Vote for Policies — awaiting an update with this year’s manifesto policies
- I Side With — already up-to-date
“I’m not voting for Corbyn”
Are you sure? Have you read the Labour manifesto? I say this as a Green supporter, but Labour have an extremely progressive policy that benefits over 95% of the population — almost every social and age group. The media lies that claim he is a terrorist sympathiser, a weak leader, or that Labour would overspend have been thoroughly debunked.
And regardless, you should absolutely be voting based on policies rather than personalities.
Abstaining is not revolutionary
You may feel like voting endorses the corrupt system. You may even be an anarchist that doesn’t believe in the state. Either way, that’s the system we have, and by not voting, you would only be strengthening that system and losing even more people power. The only solution is to vote for politicians who want to change the system — of which there are plenty.
Most importantly: Your vote matters a lot more than you realise
Over a third of the electorate did not vote in 2015, leaving us with a Conservative government with over half of the seats in the House of Commons, with the backing of under a quarter of eligible voters and just over a third of those who did vote. Imagine how different our parliament would look if those people had used their vote! Imagine what a difference it will make in this very unusual and complex election.
Are you willing to reconsider?
Read here about how to register. Your last chance is TOMORROW (Monday 22nd May).
It doesn’t end there
After you’ve registered, you still need to vote, or your voice won’t be heard. If you’re too busy to visit the polling station, you can get a postal ballot paper which you can send back in advance.
After voting, regardless of the outcome, you can participate in democracy by campaigning, protesting, engaging with your MP and government and even just by reading the news, writing a blog or helping to inform your friends and family about issues that they may be unaware of.
